By No Means Perfect
by Yazzy
Summary: When the White Tigers suddenly find themselves the victims of a hate campaign by the Demolition Boys, they wonder what's going on. As they try and find out, will a deeper, darker secret be revealed?
1. Chapter 1

Hmm...well, here's the first chapter of a new fic for all you guys. It's...a bit different to how I usually do them, but hey. Happy reading!

* * *

Lee sighed and looked down into his half-eaten cereal bowl, then ate another spoonful. Sleepily, he yawned. He was still getting over the jet-lag, and it didn't help that Mariah had woken him up playing on her gameboy -far- too early. She never seemed to be bothered by jet-lag, no matter how far they travelled, and it made Lee very jealous.

"Lee?" Rei appeared at his shoulder, looking concerned. "You okay?"

"What? Yeah...I'm just tired...Mariah woke me up early..." Rei sat down, smiling brightly.

"I could get you some of Kai's caffeine pills if you like..."

"Nah. I'll be alright." Rei put his finger under Lee's chin and lifted it, smiling still. Lee was about to say something when there was a snigger from behind him.

"Romance over breakfast, hm?" Lee turned, glaring, and found Tala and Bryan standing behind him, with Ian in their wake.

"What do -you- want, Ivanov?"

"Oh, nothing. Don't let me interrupt your romantic little tete-a-tete." Lee stood up, brows almost meeting in the middle.

"What are you talking about?" Tala smirked.

"You two. I mean...it's obvious you're together..."

"What did you say?" Tension crackled in the air, but Tala just snorted softly.

"Don't be offended. I have nothing against gay people." Lee bared his teeth.

"Excuse me?"

"I think it's sweet, actually. Two little kitties-"

"Don't say that." Lee growled, baring his teeth. Rei stood behind him.

"Lee...just leave it...he's doing it to provoke you-"

"See, little kitties getting defensive of each other-"

"Don't call us fucking -kitties-!"

"Fucking! Mm, naughty kitti-" With a yell, Lee launched himself at Tala and knocked him to the floor. Tala sneered and they started struggling, punching and kicking each other as they rolled around the floor. That was, until Rei grabbed a pitcher of water and hurled it at them, yelling. "STOP IT!" Tala and Lee broke apart spluttering and wet, while Rei stood over them, fretting. The other demolition boys just stood there watching dispassionately. Rei knelt down and pulled Lee further away from Tala, frowning. "We're not -cats-. Now just...go away. Stop starting fights!"

"I'll do it even more if I know it'll make you stand around like a worried idiot." Rei sent Tala an offended glare and offered a hand to Lee, helping him up. The neko-jin squeezed excess water out of his ponytail and stalked out, muttering angrily in Chinese. Rei sighed and took Lee's breakfast things over to the kitchen hatch, looking back as Tala dried himself off with napkins.

* * *

Later on in the day, Mariah and Lee were trying out the jacuzzi, splashing each other and laughing.

"Well well." They both stopped short and looked up to find Bryan hovering over them, wearing black swimming trunks. "You get around, don't you Lee?" Lee's mouth dropped open.

"What? She's my sister you freak!"

"Really?" Bryan's lip curled. "I thought incest was approved of in China." Mariah gasped.

"How dare you?" She stood up, hands on her hips. "Who do you think you are? I heard about your little friend trash-talking us for being neko-jin at breakfast time! What's your problem?" Bryan looked her up and down and Lee fumed.

"Don't look at her like that you pervert!"

"Why would I choose to look at -her-?" Lee was about to get up and defend his sister's honour, when Mariah got out and squared up to Bryan, glaring.

"Just quit it and stop being so nasty! What have we ever done to your team, huh?" Bryan's snorted.

"You exist. That's enough." There was a ringing slap and Bryan's head snapped back. He laughed. "You just be glad I don't hit women."

"Oh don't you? Afraid I'll hit you back?" Bryan laughed again, and Lee stood up.

"Mariah, leave it. He's just being a prick."

"No, I want to know what's wrong with him! Why does he suddenly have a thing about our team? Well? Do you have a reason, you jumped up weirdo?" Bryan walked past her, ignoring her completely, and dived into the main pool, shooting up to the other end under the water. He surfaced, then immediately started swimming, a powerful front crawl that sent him shooting up the pool and back again. Mariah snorted and got back into the jacuzzi. "Stupid Russian freak..."

"Aw, that's not nice..." Mariah turned and found the rest of the Russian team behind her, all wearing the same black trunks. Spencer flitted his eyes over Mariah's pink bikini before smirking, making Lee fume. "Why don't you just go away?" He asked hotly, not at all liking the way Spencer kept leering at Mariah, whose eyes were narrowing and narrowing as the Demolition Boys made no attempt to move.

Tala put his head to one side, smirking. "It was nice rolling with you this morning, Lee." Then, laughing, he walked over to the pool, diving in as Bryan had and taking up the lane beside him. Spencer and Ian followed suit, each of them keeping routinely in a lane and swimming as if it were the only thing in the world. Lee clenched his fists in rage. "Those guys...really get on my nerves..."

"Let's just go. I'm sure there's somewhere we can go where those freaks won't follow us..." Lee nodded, and they got out, both enraged.

* * *

"Oof!" Kevin went flying as something tripped him over. He stood up, looking at his scraped palms before looking up at Ian, who was smirking and leaning against the wall. "What did you do that for?"

"What for?"

"Trip me up!"

"I didn't." Kevin frowned.

"You did!"

"No I didn't."

"You did!"

"I didn't." Kevin stamped his foot and walked off, bumping into Rei as he went.

"Don't go round there, Rei, Ian's there. And he just tripped me up!" Rei sighed. There was something funny going on. First the thing at breakfast, then in the pool, and now this... Well...first it had been Lee, then Mariah, then Kevin. He supposed it would be him next. Well, they'd have to go a long way to provoke him! He turned the corner and found not just Ian, but all of the Russian team there, blocking the only path to his room. "Excuse me."

They didn't move. Rei folded his arms. "I have no idea what this is about, but stop being so petty. It's ridiculous." Still no reply. "You'll give up before I do, believe me." Nothing. "I suppose," Rei said conversationally. "That this is because we're different from you. Do pointy teeth scare you?" Rei laughed softly. "Seriously, what is it with you? Why have you been going out of your way to get at us?" When no reply was forthcoming, Rei sighed. "So you're horrible to the others and just ignorant to me? Well that doesn't seem fair. Don't I deserve some insults as well? Or maybe you'll trip me over, I'd like that. It'd really make me feel equal." The Demolition Boys looked ahead, faces stony. Rei moved over to Tala and looked into his eyes.

"Why do you all have the same swimsuits? Does Boris make you? Does he choose all of your clothes for you? He seems to run your lives pretty well..." Rei let the comment hang in the air, watching as Tala's eyes focused on him, like twin sapphires. "Am I right? Boris has a lot of control over you all. Did -Boris- tell you to be mean to that team of nasty Chinese neko-jin?" Astonished a his own sarcasm, Rei found himself pressed against the wall. "There you go, a nice bit of -equality-!" He smiled. "What are you going to do now?"

"Stop being so fucking cheerful." Tala spat.

"Would you rather I tried to kill you? I could, if you wanted me to." Playfully, Rei lifted his knee and poked it into Tala's midriff. The Russian growled. "You were horrible to Lee this morning. And Mariah. And Kevin. What have they done to you that was so bad? What have -I- done? As I recall, it's usually you guys beating up on me!" He looked pointedly at Bryan. Still wanting to annoy Tala with his happiness, he giggled. "Have any of you ever played on one of those arcade dance machines? They're really fun. I found one in the airport before we came over, and I beat Kai on it. He's got no sense of rhythm. Maybe it comes from being ordered to do things all your life. You don't know how to take your cues from the music because it isn't your precious -Boris-."

And then someone slapped him. Hard. Feeling his cheek stinging, Rei opened his eyes. "You shut the fuck up you little -cat-!"

"I'm not a cat. Don't call me that. I don't call you wolf because your bitbeast's one, do I?" Tala shoved him harder up against the wall, snarling.

"You just shut your fucking mouth!" Rei shook his head sadly.

"Tala...let go of me. This isn't going to get you anywhere. I'm a very patient person. You'll give up before I do." A fist slammed into the wall beside his head, and Bryan glared down at him. Rei smiled at him. "Does it make you feel special knowing that you're Russian and far taller than me?" Bryan glowered.

"I suggest you keep your mouth shut."

"Oh no, I won't do that. What are you going to do to me if I don't? Slap me again? Because you won't hit me. I know you won't. You would've done that before now if you were allowed to. You're on -orders-. If you leave visible marks...well, I wonder? What would Boris do to you then?" Tala ground his teeth, then picked Rei up by his front and threw him to the floor. The neko-jin looked up to see the Demolition Boys walking away silently, then went into his own room.

* * *

Next Chapter: Something is revealed, Bryan gets a little hysterical, and Lee gets angry.

R&R please!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey people! I'm going on holiday tomorrow, so I won't be able to post any new chapters for at least a week...sorry! Now...this chapter is where the fun starts... Happy Reading!

* * *

Later that night, all the Rei, Lee, Kevin and Mariah were in Lee's room, playing cards. Triumphantly, Mariah laid down three aces. "I win!" The other three sighed and Lee gathered up all the cards, going to deal them again. Then there was a knock at the door. More of a thump, really...

Lee stood up and answered it to find Bryan standing there, looking slightly stunned. "What the hell do you want?" Bryan didn't reply, just keeled over, straight onto Lee. Then he started twitching. Lee pulled Bryan down to the floor onto his back, and all four of them watched, horrified, as Bryan jerked and twitched, making incoherent noises. His eyes were unfocused, and his mouth was open. A trickle of saliva was dribbling out of one side, making him look almost rabid.

"What...what's wrong with him?" Asked Mariah fearfully. Bryan jerked once more, lay still, then his back arched and he let out a gurgling cry.

"T-T-Tala! No! Kgh-" He jerked again, then cried out, rolling over onto his side and curling up into a little ball, whimpering. "No...No!" He flung out an arm and it touched Lee's shirt. Crying shamelessly, he dragged Lee closer. "You have to s-stop him!" He wailed. Lee just gawped at him as he writhed with pain again. "Help me..." He begged, grip tightening.

"What? Stop who? What's wrong with you?" Lee asked, as the rest of his team looked on in horror.

"-Him-!" Bryan sobbed. "It's always him! Don't you understand?"

"Him? Who-"

"Boris." Cut in Rei. As he said the name, Bryan cried harder, clawing his way up Lee's front and clinging to him.

"Stop him...stop him...-please-!"

"But...what-?" Bryan retched suddenly, and Lee moved in time to get out of the way as he vomited, shivering.

"You have to help them!" He begged, on his knees. "Help them...He's trying...he's trying to kill us..."

"WHAT?" Lee asked, incredulous.

"We're not useful any more! We were under orders to make sure..." Bryan coughed. "To make sure you hated us enough to not want to help us...but please...I'll do anything...help them..." He started to collapse, but Lee grabbed him and pulled him up again, carrying him over to the bed and sitting him down.

"Explain to me. What's Boris doing?" Bryan shook his head.

"It's a drug...he's using it...but we...we don't want to die! I don't want to die..." Bryan grabbed Lee's front, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I don't want to die..."

"He's given you all some kind of drug...to kill you?" Bryan nodded tearfully. "Which room are you in, Bryan?"

"They're with Boris..." He shook, holding himself tightly. "I don't want to die alone..." Lee bared his teeth.

"Where's his room? I'm going to KILL him!" He picked Bryan up and slung him over his shoulder. "Mariah, phone for an ambulance and the police, Kevin, go and get Mr. Dickenson, and Rei...come with me. We'll take him back and get inside, then I'm going to -murder- that bastard! Bryan, which room is it?"

"F-Four hundred and five...don't take me back...no...I don't want to...please...no...I don't..." Bryan shuddered, getting hysterical. "No..."

"Bryan, listen. I'm going to carry you to the fourth floor, and me and Rei are going to take you to Boris. We need to help the others, don't we? Well we need you to help us. We need to get inside the room to help them." Bryan nodded weakly.

* * *

Kevin rapped on Mr. Dickenson's door frantically. "Hmmm? Who's there?"

"Mr. Dickenson! There's something bad happening with the Demolition Boys! Boris has done something!" Kevin cried as the door opened.

"Done something?"

"He's trying to kill them with drugs! Lee and Rei have gone to do something, and Mariah's phoning for the ambulance!"

"What?"

"You have to do something! What if Boris does something to Lee and Rei too?" Mr. Dickenson looked serious.

"Come with me, then."

* * *

"Hello, this is the emergency services line, which service do you require?"

"Ambulance and police!" Mariah panted.

"Where are you dear?"

"The Grand Ravati Hotel."

"What is the nature of the emergency?"

"One of the teams is being poisoned by a horrible man, they need help!"

"...How old are you dear?"

"What?"

"Prank calls are-"

A hand suddenly plucked the handset from Mariah. "This is Mr. Dickenson of the BBA speaking, I will need armed police and four ambulances. There has been a severe poisoning incident. All the information Mariah gave you is correct. There is a dangerous criminal at large in the hotel." The woman at the other end sounded flustered as she replied.

"Yes sir. The services are on their way."

* * *

Lee hammered on Boris' door, glaring as the older Russian opened it. "We found him crawling around outside Rei's room." He barged past Boris with Bryan in his arms and saw an empty room.

"No...no..." Bryan begged.

"I think he's been taking something...or drinking too much..." Rei said straight after, disgustedly, trying to act well enough to put Boris off.

"Don't...no...no..."

"Bryan!" Cried a pained voice from the next room. Before Boris could say anything, Rei whipped the door open. It opened onto a much smaller room, where Tala was sitting, a shuddering heap, and Spencer and Ian were lying sprawled out on the floor. "Bryan...sh-shut up..." Tala snivelled, evidently slightly delirious.

Lee looked at Boris and saw the gun in his hand with some horror. He put Bryan down beside Tala and shut the door after them, just in time to hear a shot explode behind him. Rei screamed, and Lee saw red. "You and your little friend can't be allowed to live after this...I'll kill you both and then there's no-one to testify against me!" Boris laughed and took aim at Lee. Who walked forwards, breathing deeply. He opened his mouth to say something and a growl came out. "Come on now, it won't hurt...I promise..."

Lee threw back his head and roared as the sound of sirens came from outside. He crouched as a bullet flew over his head, making his hair ripple. "YOU'RE SICK!" He howled, teeth bared. Boris trained the gun on him again and missed as Lee launched himself at a Russian for the second time that day. Except this time, he wanted to -kill- the person under him. He wanted to rip, to tear...to murder... The door clattered as he dug his nails into Boris' wrist, forcing the gun out of his grip. He knew he was snarling, and he knew he was going to -bite- Boris-

"Lee! Lee, the ambulances are here! Get a grip!" Lee looked up to see Kevin and Mr. Dickenson in the doorway, then with a vicious swipe, he smashed a hand into Boris' head, knocking him out cold. Rei was standing there too somehow, with a cut scored along his arm. Mariah ran in and Lee stood up slowly, still feeling instinctive. "Grab one of them each and we'll get them downstairs in the lifts. Mr. D, you'll have to watch -him-..." He wrenched open the door of the other room and found Bryan and Tala clinging to each other, sobbing. He picked Bryan up and started to walk, followed by Rei with Tala, Kevin with Ian, and Mariah somehow dragging Spencer by his underarms, leaving Mr. Dickenson to watch over Boris.

Lee hammered the button for the lift, then growled and headed for the stairs, with Bryan whimpering softly. "It hurts...I don't want to die..."

"You won't."

Paramedics met them halfway down with stretchers, but as Mariah and Kevin looked to be coming towards him, Lee shook his head. "Stay with them." Mariah looked like she would argue, but then decided not to as she saw the look in Lee's eyes. The ambulances were parked up on the pavement, surrounded by a gaggle of onlookers. Lee and his team walked through them as if they weren't there. Nothing else seemed really real.

* * *

Short, I know. Sorry. The next one'll probably be longer.

Next Chapter: Needles, oxymorons and hiding under beds.

R&R please!


	3. Chapter 3

I'm back from Barra, but after a five-hour car journey home I'm rather deaded and seem to have lost the ability to type...so...here's the next chapter...Merry Christmas.

Spencer yawned and opened his eyes. Time to get up. It was light, so the others would be training by now...so... He went to get up, and found that his body had no energy. Which made him actually look around him for the first time. He was in a white room, in a white bed...and...was that Tala over there? And Bryan? He looked to his right and saw Ian tucked up in yet another white bed, eyes tightly closed. He tried to move again, and got as far as moving his leg about an inch to the left. Then he felt exhausted again.

"...Tala?" He asked. His voice was a breathless whisper. "Bryan?" Nothing. He lay back, feeling like he'd just gone ten rounds with a heavyweight boxer. He was just drifting into a doze when the door swung open and the White Tigers walked in, chattering and laughing. They dispersed; Rei going to Tala, Lee to Bryan, Kevin to Ian, and... "Spencer!" He looked up and found Mariah leaning over him looking joyous.

"What...what's going on?" Mariah fussed over his hair for a second before sitting down beside him.

"Do you remember Boris trying to drug you all? Well we found out, and we got Mr. D and the police to come and sort it out. You're in hospital. You've been asleep for...ages..." Spencer looked over at Tala, who was directly across from him.

"What about...the others?"

"Well...Boris wasn't very clever about it all. He gave you all the same dosage of that drug, so you having the biggest body mass you recovered quicker. The doctors have said they should be okay though." Mariah stroked his cheek fondly. "You were all really lucky. When they arrested him, they found out that Boris is...well, he's mad."

"He always has been." Mariah smiled.

"No, I mean seriously. He's clinically insane."

"He always has been." Spencer repeated. Mariah looked at him strangely.

"What do you mean? He's been like that for a long time?" Spencer looked away, suddenly fearful. This whole thing could be something Boris had cooked up to make them say they hated him, and then... "Spencer?"

"Yes?"

"Spencer...you can talk to me..."

"No I can't." Spencer replied automatically, closing his eyes.

"Spencer! What's the matter?" Her footsteps clicked away. "He was talking about Boris and now he won't say anything..." Lee's voice answered.

"He's only just up, Mariah, give him a while before you start asking about things like that. It's obvious that there was something strange going on with Boris before now, none of them are going to want to talk about it. Leave it for someone who knows how to ask without making them scared again."

Scared...yes, Spencer knew what it was like to be scared. Knew what it was like to wake up in the abbey and wish he was someone else, for fear that the day would end with being hurt again. He knew what it was like to hide under your bed at night because Boris was looking for someone to have fun with. He knew what it was like to be beaten until you dropped, then dragged away and experimented on until you felt like you just wanted to die...and that was why...

"Spencer..."

"I can't talk to you!" He whispered.

"Spencer...you're crying..." Mariah sounded so concerned, so pitying...Spencer tried to choke back a sob, then it all overcame him. He burst into tears, howling "Spencer..." A hand touched his cheek, then he found himself pulled into a warm embrace. "Hey, it's okay...just cry, Spencer, it's okay...he can't do anything else to you now...

Spencer knew he was being an idiot, crying like a little girl over someone he didn't even know...but she was -kind-...it was as if she cared...

"I -do- care..." Mariah said gently. It was then that Spencer realised he'd spoken out loud. He cried a little harder, burying his face in the neko-jin's shoulder and slumping against her weakly, cherishing the contact while it was still there. Gradually, his sobs died away and he was left snivelling. "Spencer? Are you...okay?" The Russian shook his head, clutching at Mariah weakly. Then another hand touched his shoulder.

"Spencer Rabinsky?" Spencer sniffed. "I'm Judith. I'm your doctor. Now, let's have a look at you..." He shook his head, but let himself be pulled away from Mariah gently and rested against the fluffed up pillows. "You were really in a rough way when you all got here, it's a good sign that you've woken up!" Spencer looked up into Judith's cheerful round face and felt his lip wobble again. "Hey, don't look like that! I just need to take a blood sample and then you can sit and talk to your girlfriend some more." Judith produced a sealed needle from her pocket and the protest about girlfriends that had been forming on Spencer's lips died.

"No...get away from me!" Spencer lashed out with a desperate hand and knocked the needle away. "Get away from me!" Judith sighed.

"Spencer...I know-"

"You don't know anything!"

"Spencer-"

"NO!"

Mariah watched Spencer starting to panic sadly. His chest was heaving, and his eyes were wide with fear. "You're with him! You all are! Get away from me!" Judith took a noticeable step back, and Spencer started to calm down.

"Now Spencer...we need to take a sample of your blood."

"No...you can't..."

"Spencer...I'm going to send a psychologist up to talk to you in half an hour. When he leaves, I have to take a sample. Your girlfriend can sit with you and everything, but we need to take one. So just think about it, okay? It's just an empty needle, there's nothing in it, so I'm not injecting you with anything. It's just routine, you'll barely even feel it." Spencer shook his head, adamant. "We don't have the option of -not- taking a blood test. If you don't try to co-operate, we'll either have to drug you beforehand or hold you down. You still have traces of the drug in your system, we need to know how much of it there is." Spencer shook his head again, more out of reflex than anything else. Judith simply sighed and left.

"Spencer...I'll hold your hand if you're scared..." Mariah said gently. Spencer swivelled his eyes to look at her, incredulous. Scared? He wasn't scared. It was more than being scared...

"Don't let him hurt me...please..." He begged tearfully. "Please..." His voice was barely a whisper, and his eyes were already filling with tears again. Mariah sat down beside him and took hold of his hand, squeezing it tightly.

"He isn't here, Spencer. He's in an institute."

"He'll get out...you don't know him! You don't know what he's like!"

"Spencer...he can't get out. Mr. Dickensons's seeing to it all."

"He'll get out." Spencer insisted, closing his eyes and sinking back into his pillows. "You can't stop him. No-one can stop him." He was slightly surprised when Mariah snuggled up beside him, laying an arm over his stomach.

"He can't get out. And anyway, he doesn't know you're here and we're all here to protect you. Lee said he would have killed Boris if Mr. Dickenson hadn't come."

"You don't understand...you don't understand or you'd -know-..." And with that Spencer shut his eyes tightly and refused to speak another word.

"Spencer?"

"Don't wake him up! If he's asleep he won't be able to feel it, and that's better for all of us." Spencer heard these voices vaguely, rolling over onto his side. "...Can you just hold the needle for me?" Needle? Oh no...no...they said they weren't on Boris' side...they'd lied...they'd -lied-! With a frightened gasp he scrabbled away, falling off the bed and hitting himself hard on the floor. From there he moved into a crawl, too scared to know where he was going. He had to stop a few metres away, retching and panting. Judith appeared before him and he backed himself up to the wall, terrified. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"Spencer-"

"YOU LIARS!"

"Spencer-" Mariah suddenly appeared, crouching beside him and touching his shoulder. Spencer grabbed her, hysterical and angry, and started to shake her as violently as he could manage. "You lied! You lied to me! You were on his side all along!" He was barely aware of Judith shouting, and then three people leapt on top of him, pinning him down. He felt something jab into his arm and then started to feel drowsy...and...and...

* * *

Lee, Rei and Kevin receded, letting Judith get a look at Spencer. He'd been terrified. She didn't think she'd ever seen anyone so afraid of having needles near them...and the fear he held about Boris was worrying too. It made her wonder exactly what had happened during all those years Spencer had spent in the abbey... Quickly taking a blood sample and hefting Spencer back onto his bed, Judith left the room.

"Where's Bryan?" Everyone in the room suddenly turned to Lee, who was pointing at Bryan's bed. Where the Russian currently wasn't. Lee ran over to the bed, moving aside the duvet, checking behind the curtain, and then-

"Bryan...what are you doing under the bed?" A pair of dull eyes stared at him. "Bryan?"

"Where is he?"

"Who, Spencer?"

"No...-him-...where is he?"

"Boris?" Bryan flinched. "He's been locked up. He isn't here." He held out a hand and Bryan took it slightly doubtfully.

"You helped us..." Lee nodded, giving Bryan a hand out.

"Bryan...why did you go under the bed?" Bryan's eyes darted from side to side.

"...If...if he...if he wants...you have to hide...unless you want...but no-one wants that...but..." Lee lifted Bryan up, sitting him on the bed.

"I'm going to get you a doctor, okay?" Bryan suddenly looked panicked.

"Don't do that!"

"...Why? They're good doctors, they know what they're doing. Look," Lee said placatingly, seeing Bryan's horrified expression. "Let's just sit and talk about what happened for a second, and then we'll see, okay?" He sat down beside the Russian, laying an arm around his shoulders. "So...after we went back to Boris' room, we took you all down to some ambulances. The drug he'd given you...well they're not quite sure what it is yet, but you were all in a pretty bad way. But...he wasn't clever about it, so he gave you all the same dose. Spencer's already come out of...well, it's a coma, really...and now you, and then they think it'll be Tala, and then Ian. But they say you're all going to be fine." Bryan looked slightly nonplussed by the whole thing. Lee weighed up the possibilities and then pulled Bryan in to his arms, holding him close.

"Why did you help us?" Bryan asked softly, pressed up against Lee's chest.

"What do you mean why?"

"What we did...why did you bother when we were so horrible...why didn't you just leave it? He'll kill you all...he'll kill us..."

"Bryan, look, calm down...hey...look, we helped you because you were in trouble." Lee tucked Bryan's head under his chin, stroking the Russian's back as he started to cry. "Shall I go and find a doctor now? They need to know you're awake..."

"No! You can't! You can't...don't trust them...even if they say it won't hurt it does...it does!"

"No...these aren't that kind of doctor...they're not going to put anything into you, they just want to check you're okay. They're good doctors..." Bryan mumbled something into Lee's chest. "What?"

"Oxymoron."

"What's that?"

"Two words. Don't fit together. Doctor's aren't good!"

"These ones are."

"How do you know?" Bryan asked, looking up. "How do you know? I thought everyone at the abbey was nice until...until..." With a sob, Bryan clutched at Lee, as a white-coated doctor came in.

"Bryan Kuznetsov?" Bryan looked up, saw the white coat, and seemed to descend into a mad panic. He made a cracking noise in his throat and then screamed, trying to struggle out of Lee's arms. The neko-jin made the drastic mistake of trying to hold him there. For his pains he received a scratch across his face, a bitten arm, and a screeched torrent of mad Russian in his ear. Bryan made his escape and crawled under the bed again. Everyone could hear him crying and muttering in Russian.

The doctor, a good looking man who looked around thirty, sighed. "A fear of needles, a fear of doctors...I'm beginning to think this abbey wasn't much of an asset to the medical profession...my wife thinks that we should take more samples of blood so we can analyse it- Judith is my wife, of course- but then there's the problem of actually getting the blood out of them without terrorising them...I'm James, by the way..."

James took off his coat, revealing a smart shirt and tie. He put on a pair of glasses and leaned down, peering under the bed. "Bryan? It's okay, the doctor's gone. It's just me, and I'm not going to hurt you." Lee expected Bryan to send James away with a flea in his ear, but Bryan emerged a few seconds later, still shaking and crying. "Right, now let's sit you down and we can talk about everything, okay?" Bryan nodded numbly, sitting down and staring off into the distance.

"Are you sure you aren't a doctor?" He asked suspiciously.

"If I was a doctor, wouldn't I be wearing a coat and carrying a stethoscope?"

"No." Bryan glared at him, then closed his eyes, falling backwards with a flump. "I'm not talking to you about anything."

"Bryan...why won't you talk to me?"

"Because you're with -them-. With the doctors. Even worse if you're a psychologist. I HATE psychologists!"

"Why?" Lee put in, bewildered. Bryan shrugged, still with his eyes shut.

"They tell you things...they make you think things..."

"Those can't have been real psychologists, then." Bryan's eyes snapped open and swivelled onto James, full of hatred.

"You're a -psychologist-!" He spat, as if the word left a bad taste in his mouth. "Don't talk to me! I don't want to hear anything you have to say!"

In what Lee deemed a rather facetious gesture, James started to use sign language. Apparently Bryan understood it perfectly, because he made a few rather aggressive gestures back and then crawled under the bed again, dragging the duvet with him. Lee looked at James and blinked. Were the Demolition boys really this messed up? When Spencer had turned on Mariah when confronted with a needle...when Bryan expressed such a violent hatred of psychologists...something had been going on. And it wasn't a good something. It was like a spider web, and now they'd shaken the edges they were starting to find out about the fat, malevolent spider that lived in the middle.

Decisively, Lee got down onto his hands and knees and joined Bryan under the bed. The Russian glared at him, then turned his back. Lee simply laid an arm over his waist, holding him close. After a while, Bryan fell asleep.

* * *

R&R, if you would be so kind... 


	4. Chapter 4

Hello! Another chapter, another...thing. Yeah. Anyway...I just wanted to say a little bit about Bryan...I know he's wildly, wildly OOC, but I figure that seeing as he was the most psychologically messed-up of the Demolition Boys in the first place, this has kind of tipped him over the brink a little. Therefore, he's hysterical and frightened to horrible extremes, unlike the rest of them.

And to whomever it may concern (hah, not replying to a specific comment!) Kevin appears...soon.

* * *

"Spencer?" Spencer shot a glare in Judith's direction and looked away again. "Spencer, the results of your blood test came back." Spencer flashed her another dirty look. One day after the needle escapade and Spencer appeared to have completely not forgiven her. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were awake! It had to be done, can't you understand?" 

Spencer merely glared again. With a sigh, Judith left him alone. It had been a mistake to talk to him without the White Tigers there. Something about those four Chinese kids made the Russian team, or what of it was awake, more receptive to things they didn't seem to hold any love for. One of them being doctors in general.

They were back again, at ten on the dot, fanning out to the beds of the Demolition Boys. They always went to the same ones; as if there was some prior agreement that Bryan was Lee's and Spencer was Mariah's. Rei and Kevin had to wait patiently for Tala and Ian to wake up. Strange kids...

* * *

"Bryan?" Bryan looked up, blinking. Something about the whole situation seemed to have made him a little...distant. As if he was a few seconds behind what was happening around him. "How are you feeling?" There was a silence. Then... 

"Don't know."

"There's a psychotherapist coming to see you later." Ah, there- the one thing that would make Bryan sit up and pay attention.

"No! Don't let them!"

"I said psychotherapist, not psychologist."

"There's a difference?" Bryan snarled.

"Yes." Bryan's eyes darted around before he glared at the door.

"Well I'm not going to listen."

"Why?"

"Because they -do- things to you!" Bryan burst into tears, prompting Lee to gather the Russian into his arms and hug him tightly. "Everyone hates me...everyone hates me..." He whispered, sobbing.

"That isn't true. I don't hate you."

"Yes you do!"

"How do you know what I think of you? You're not psychic!" Lee retorted, nettled.

"Yes you do...everyone does...-I- hate me! I hate everything!"

"No you don't." Bryan clutched at Lee, soaking his shirt with tears.

"You would hate me! You would if you knew what I am!"

"What are you?" Bryan shook his head, burying his face in Lee's neck. Lee cuddled him, wondering about all the things that must have happened to Bryan. Someone had obviously messed with his mind, with his self-perception and his opinion of the world at large...but...

_"You would hate me! You would if you knew what I am!"_

What was that supposed to mean? "Bryan...what did you mean, I would hate you if I knew what you are?"

"Make them leave me alone...please...I don't want to be me any more...I don't like me...I hate myself..." Bryan sobbed weakly. "I hate you! I hate you!" Lee wasn't quite sure if Bryan was shouting at him, or at himself...either way, he was showing how fragile he was again. His mentality seemed so delicate...on a second's whim he could decide he hated everything, and even worse was that he seemed to hate himself...

"I don't hate you." The neko-jin whispered. "I don't hate you and I never will."

"You're lying!" Bryan wailed, pushing at Lee stubbornly. "You're lying! Stop lying!"

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are...you're lying to me..." Lee held him with unusual patience as he cried himself out, letting Bryan lean against him, sniffling. "I don't want to see a psychologist...I hate them..." He snivelled. "I'm scared..."

"I know."

"No you don't!" Bryan screamed. "You don't...you don't..."

"Hey, hey...calm down..."

"I'm scared...I'm s-scared..." Lee nodded, leaning Bryan against himself and laying back, letting the Russian use him as a pillow.

"Calm down...shh...it's okay. I won't let anyone hurt you..."

After a bit more coaxing, Bryan fell asleep.

* * *

_It was dark. Everything was dark. Voices- although were they voices? Whatever they were, they passed like treacle. Sometimes there was the odd word. A boy's voice. And sometimes a woman's. It was all so strange..._

_

* * *

_

"Ian?" Hours later, after Bryan had reluctantly spoken a sum total of about three words to his psychotherapist, Kevin went back to check on Ian. He found him staring at the ceiling. "Ian? Are you okay?" When Ian showed no sign of hearing, Kevin waved at him. After that, he finally got a reaction. A low groan. Apparently Ian couldn't move very much. "Should I call a doctor?" Nothing. "Ian? I'm going to get the doctor, right? You'll like her, she's really nice..." He turned to leave.

"Don't go..."

"I'm just going to get the doctor."

"Can't...hear you..." Ian stirred, trying to move and finding himself incapable of it.

"Um..." Kevin hesitated, then started to speak loudly and slowly. "I'm- going- to- get- you- a- doctor."

"What?" Kevin sighed.

"Are you deaf...or..." Luckily for Kevin, Judith chose that moment to come onto the ward the Russian team were sharing. "Judith! Ian's woken up, but he can't move and he can't hear what I'm saying..." Judith came over and sat down beside Ian, smiling.

"Hello Ian." Ian just kept staring away from her, not at all aware she'd said anything. She sighed. "We still can't identify the exact make-up of the drug he gave them. He may be deaf." There was a short silence, then-

"IAN!" The sudden shout made Kevin jump, but Ian showed no reaction; his eyes were still fixed on the wall near him. The Russian only looked at Judith when she touched his arm and started to sign to him. Kevin had gathered from Bryan's display that the Demolition Boys knew sign language, so it was no surprise when Ian tried to lift his arms to sign back. They didn't seem to want to do anything though- they just lay limply at his sides as he strained to lift them. "Can't..." It was then that Kevin realised that Ian's speech was different to before. It was somehow gargled...but then again, it wasn't like the Russian could hear himself to -know- he was speaking differently...

Judith shook her head, signing something that Kevin didn't understand. Although looking at Ian's face it wasn't something good. His eyes filled with tears and the corners of his mouth jerked down. "No..." He managed to shake his head slightly, looking horrified. "No..."

"What did you say to him?"

"I told him...that he's deaf, and that at the moment we don't know if it's temporary or permanent."

"What did you tell him that for? You've only made him miserable!" And miserable he was; tears were flowing down his face and he was sniffling. Kevin watched as the Russian tried to turn away, but found his body resisting his instructions. The sobs took on a frustrated tone, and Judith sighed.

"I'll go and get James. He's better with ears than me." She left, and Ian watched her go, looking despairing. Kevin sat down beside him.

"...Well...you can't hear me, can you? Well...I," Kevin pointed at himself. "Don't," He crossed his hands in front of him. "Sign." He waved his hands around, and Ian nodded.

"Don't go..." He whispered. Kevin shook his head, pointed at himself, the floor, and then to Ian himself.

"I'm here for you. For..." He pointed. "For you." Ian nodded, closing his eyes for a couple of seconds. Then he opened them again, holding out his hand as far as he could. Without thinking about it, Kevin took hold of it. Ian shut his eyes again.

* * *

_So dark...blurred voices rolled on an on. Was this hell? Was this what death was like? If it was death...then why did it feel like there was something going on outside? So strange...so strange..._

_

* * *

_

Next Chapter: A most terrible thing is revealed...

Oh, and R&R please, including the 9/10 that usually don't!


	5. Chapter 5

Hmm...I have news to impart. This story...will probably have two endings. Shockhorror! But...well...I've kinda already got the angsty one figured, but people have asked for a happy one...so I thought I'd have a go. My first 'choose your own ending or read them both', really...

* * *

"Spencer?"

"Have they said anything else about Ian?" Mariah sat down beside the tall Russian, sighing.

"James has been doing some tests and...they think it -is- going to be permanent." Spencer looked away, trying to hide the look of sadness that crossed his face. "Spencer..."

"Mariah...is he locked up?"

"Boris is locked up, Spencer, I said. I haven't lied to you."

"When I get out of here, I swear, I'm going to kill him..."

"Spencer..." Spencer's head snapped back round and Mariah could see the look of defiant anger on his face.

"Are you saying he doesn't deserve to die for what he's done to us? Every time I get up I feel sick, I can't sleep for nightmares! Bryan's permanently terrified and have you seen the blisters in his mouth? Ian's DEAF! Tala hasn't even woken up yet! WHAT IF HE DIES?"

Mariah shook her head, stroking Spencer's cheek. "You can't be so angry...you can't get better unless you're happy..." Spencer snorted. "Instead of thinking about what's wrong, think about what's right! You're still all together, you have brilliant doctors looking after you, and you have us! We'll always be here for you!"

"No you won't. No-one ever is." Mariah shook her head, hugging Spencer tightly.

"When we helped you...I carried you down all those stairs...I stayed with you in the ambulance...I was with you when you woke up...I stayed! And I'm not leaving! Not even if you try to make me because you're mine now! You're my responsibility just like Bryan's Lee's and Ian's Kevin's!" She cried. Spencer stared at her for a second then held her closer.

"I'm sorry...I just...I get so angry...he won't even be punished for what he did..." He tried to fight back a sob. "And what's going to happen to us? If we get through all this? We're never going to be adopted, so what then? And what about afterwards? What if this all comes back? What if we never recover?"

Mariah nuzzled into his neck, her arms tight around him. "You can't think like that...you're worrying over things that might never happen..."

"What about Tala?" Whispered Spencer. "What if he never wakes up? What if Ian's ears never get right again? What if...W-what if..."

"Deal with everything when it goes wrong, if it ever does. It's okay. We're here. -I'm- here, you don't need to worry..." Spencer nodded, sniffling.

"Do you promise?"

"Yes."

* * *

_So dark...why did it have to be so dark...darkness was bad...why was it dark?_

_

* * *

_

"Bryan?" Bryan looked up at Lee, then back over at Tala.

"They said he'd wake up. Why isn't he awake yet?"

"They don't know. They're still working on what exactly that drug was, so they aren't really sure about anything." Bryan 'hmph-ed' and flumped back onto his pillows. Lee sat beside him, kissing his cheek. "James is coming back to talk to you in a bit." Bryan made a sound of dissent, folding his arms. "Bryan, you know he isn't going to hurt you."

"He's a -psychologist-."

"So?"

"Look, you don't understand!"

"Well I might if you told me!" Bryan looked around, then swallowed nervously.

"Do you promise -he- can't hear me?" Lee nodded. "He wanted...sometimes...he didn't have a girlfriend or anything...so he...he used to..." He looked around suspiciously again. "He would...I...I can't say it..." Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. "If he wanted...-that-...he would just take one of us...and...and they made you think it was okay...for a while...then you'd realise what happened and..." A fat tear rolled down Bryan's cheek. "I'm...a wh-whore...and now you h-hate me!" The Russian started to sob, soon descending into hysterics. Eventually they had no other option but to sedate him. Lee just stared at him as he slept, still unable to quite believe what he'd heard. Bryan's words floated back into his head again.

_"You would hate me! You would if you knew what I am!"_

Did that mean...that Bryan thought of himself as a whore? Lee felt suddenly sick. The whole situation was sick. It was disgusting. That that could have -happened-...that no-one had -known-... He clenched his fists so hard he thought his nails would go right through his hands, thinking about Boris, about how easily he'd gotten away with what he'd done, how close he'd been to killing him, so close to just getting rid of that piece of FILTH-

"Lee?"

"If I ever see Boris again I'm going to kill him."

"Lee...you can't say something like that...I already said to Spencer-"

"Then Spencer was right, Mariah! Do you know what that sick bastard -did- to Bryan? Do you know how much he tortured him?" His voice dropped to a hissed whisper. "He -raped- him!" Mariah went pale.

"He...he did what?"

"You heard me!"

Lee watched his sister run back across to Spencer, flinging her arms around him.

* * *

"Oh Spencer...I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'll kill him as well! I'll kill him...how could he-? I hate him!" Spencer pulled Mariah down onto his bed, slightly puzzled.

"Mariah?"

"Please don't say he did that to all of you...that can't be true..."

"What can't be true?"

"B-Bryan said...said that Boris...Boris raped him!" Spencer's expression grew cold. "Spencer..."

"He never wanted me as much as he wanted Tala or Bryan...especially Tala. After all, you said I have to think about what's good about something...it's good that there were more beautiful people than me around." His voice was strained, and the look on his face was one of forced control. "It's good that I'm ugly. It's good that Tala taught me how to make myself bad, so -he- wouldn't want me any more. It's good...it's good that..." Spencer bit his lip hard, drawing blood. "Leave me alone...leave me alone to be -ugly- on my own..."

"Spencer..."

"GET OUT!" Spencer half screamed. "Get -out-..."

"Spencer..."

The Russian didn't answer, just rolled onto his front and buried his face in the pillow.

* * *

Kevin watched all the commotion over Ian's shoulder, embroiled as he was in a fierce embrace. The Russian was still crying, and Kevin himself found that pretty reasonable. After all, it wasn't an everyday misfortune to find out you were deaf was it? With a sigh, the green-haired boy hugged Ian a bit tighter. He was tempted to whisper something comforting to him, but it seemed pointless as he couldn't hear it...

"Kevin?" Came Ian's funny voice.

"Y-um..." Kevin leaned back, looking at Ian with a smile. He wiped the tears away from his eyes tenderly, and handed Ian a tissue to blow his nose with. "It feels...really weird...I think I'm talking but I...can't hear it...can you hear me?" Kevin nodded. "Am I...okay? Apart from my ears?" Kevin opened his mouth to reply, then paused. After some quick thinking, he pointed to himself, then to his head, to Ian, and gave a thumbs up. Ian nodded and sank against him once more. Kevin tightened his arms around the Russian, holding him close.

Mariah padded over, looking distraught. "Kevin...Boris raped them...he raped Spencer and Bryan...he...how could he do that? Why would he? I can't understand it...it's just evil!" She sat down beside Ian, making him look up in mild surprise.

"Aren't you Lee's sister?" Mariah nodded. "What's...the matter?" As Mariah tried to think of a way of explaining, Spencer cleared his throat.

"Make him look this way." He said quickly, still looking and sounding depressed. As requested, Kevin pointed over at Spencer, who signed something brief. Ian's lips pursed together, going white. "Forget you heard about it..." He said slowly, slurring. "Don't talk about it!" His voice rose to a shout and he buried his face in Kevin's shoulder again. Mariah touched his back and he squirmed, turning his head to glare at her. "Don't...touch me." Mariah stood up, going back over to Spencer.

* * *

Oh ye Gods, I get worse every time...

Anyway...um...right! Next chapter: Lee gets angry, Rei gets fed, and Bryan gets upset.

R&R please


	6. Chapter 6

Ooh, another chapter! Happy reading!

* * *

The next day, Spencer insisted on getting up and going over to Tala's bedside, despite having to stagger the two metres or so it took and ending up being sick when he got there. Bryan joined him, and Ian was wheeled over in a wheelchair, still too weak to move properly on his own. The White Tigers stood with them, all looking down at Tala, whose eyes were tightly closed, and Rei, who was snoozing beside him, as he had most days since the Russian captain had been laid there. "Rei?" Lee asked suspiciously, touching the dark-haired boy on the arm. "Are you okay, Rei?" Rei sat up, blinking, and Lee frowned. The younger neko-jin was pale and much thinner, with bags under his eyes. "Rei, get up. When was the last time you ate? You need to worry about yourself as well as Tala!"

"But Lee-"

"Mariah can watch Tala for a few minutes, and you can come with me to the cafe and -eat- something!"

"Lee..." Everyone present watched as Lee drew himself up to his full height. In reality that wasn't much, but bristling as he was he seemed much bigger. "When I said you didn't have to come back to the hotel until after the rest of us I didn't think you meant you were going to sit there and pine and neglect yourself!" Rei's lip quivered.

"Lee...I'm sorry...I just don't feel like eating...I'm not hungry..." Lee's expression softened.

"Yes you are. You're just worried. Come on, we'll go down to the cafe and then we'll come straight back up, okay? And when we go back tonight I'll wash your hair for you." Rei smiled, a tear leaking from the corner of one eye.

"You're always acting like my big brother..."

"You need one. Come on, up. Tala's got enough people watching him, he'll be fine."

As Lee pulled Rei up, a hand grabbed his shirt. "Lee...James is coming back...don't leave me..." Lee felt his heart sink. Of course. James was coming back for another therapy session with Bryan...and then it came to him.

"Come with us!"

* * *

On further reflection, bringing Bryan hadn't been such a good idea. The cafe down the hall was small and busy, which for a start wasn't really the kind of thing Bryan was ready for, then of course there was the fact that the Russian was constantly edgy, jumping whenever people brushed past him or even looked at him. Which wasn't made any easier by the fact that he was wearing a green hospital gown that made him stick out like a sore thumb. Rei wasn't helping either- he was too busy shovelling food down his face at record speed so he could get back to Tala. So Lee had to cuddle Bryan close- which attracted more attention- and stroke his hair. After a while he seemed to become a little calmer, reaching for Lee's hand and just holding it, watching Rei wrestling with a packet of salt.

"...Um..." Bryan picked up another packet out of the bowl in the middle of the table and ripped it open, holding it out. Rei took it with a smile and Bryan blinked at him before dropping his eyes to the floor, reaching for Lee's hand again.

When Rei was done, they started off back up the corridor. Halfway along they found James, who didn't look best pleased. "Bryan...I know it's hard for you to talk to me, but-"

"He wasn't running away." Lee interrupted. "Rei needed something to eat and I wanted to go with him, and Bryan wanted to come. So." He shrugged. "We were only in the cafe." James looked at him strangely.

"So why are you standing in front of him them?"

Lee cocked his head to one side, then belatedly realised that he was moving in front of Bryan, protecting him. "It's instinctive. That's what made us get involved in the first place. Instinct. Neko-jin are different." James continued to look at him strangely, then shrugged.

"Well come on, back to the ward."

When they got back, Rei flumped down next to Tala again and Lee sat with Bryan. "Now Bryan...how about you tell me about your past? Before the abbey. Or even in the abbey if you want to..." James smiled encouragingly, but Bryan was suddenly looking cold and angry.

"I don't want to talk to -you- about it!" Lee stared. Bryan seemed to have morphed back into his old self, with a cruel glare and a spiteful gleam in his eyes. "Why do you want to bring it up? You know what it was like! Do you just like hearing about people suffering?" His voice rose with every exclamation until he was shouting, then he started to cry. "You know what we had to do...you know..." Lee laid an arm around Bryan's shoulder, squeezing gently.

"Come on, Bryan. He just wants to help. He doesn't know what happened. And what about your parents? Are you an orphan? Were you kidnapped?"

"...My F-Father sold me to Boris. I never had a mother. You don't know how much I would give to -be- an orphan! I know where he lives..." Bryan turned and burrowed his face into Lee's neck. "I know where he lives..." Lee shook his head, pulling Bryan onto his lap.

"It's okay, Bryan. It's okay. I'm here. Don't cry."

"He didn't want me! No-one ever wanted me but B-Boris! And I didn't WANT him to want me!" Bryan screamed. "No-one cares about me! No-one ever has! I'm WORTHLESS!" Lee shook his head, holding Bryan still as he tried to struggle away. Bryan kicked out and hit Lee behind the knee, making him let go, crying out in pain. And with that Bryan was off, leaping over the bed and away out of the ward.

James ran after him, leaving Lee to follow at a limp, reaching the door of the ward in time to see Bryan whizzing round the corner. He was surprisingly fast, for someone who was recovering from a deadly drug...

Lee set off in the direction of Bryan and James only to meet Bryan coming back. The Russian flung himself into Lee's arms and wailed as James skidded up alongside them. Bryan scrabbled further into Lee's embrace, wetting his neck with tears. "Don't let him chase me...don't let him...please...tell him not to...tell him..." Lee tightened his hold again, wanting to reassure Bryan.

"I'll tell him not to chase you, Bryan, if you promise not to run away again. You're not worthless, and -I- care about you. I care a lot about you. So just calm down, I'll tell James, and then you're going to finish talking to him."

"Don't want to."

"You have to." Lee said firmly. Bryan sniffed.

"Will you sit with me?"

"If you want me to." Bryan nodded, then sighed.

"I'm so pathetic..." His pale fingers crumpled the front of Lee's shirt. "I'm so pathetic..."

"No you're not. You're just getting over a big shock." The neko-jin looked down sadly. "You know...when I was younger, I nearly died when we were out rock-climbing. I was so shocked I didn't speak for days. ...No-one's expecting you to be better straight away, but we want you to try." Bryan nodded.

"I'll try...I'll try..."

* * *

_So dark...so utterly, unceasingly dark...maybe this was what happened after death? You floated in a warm sea of nothing, surrounded by black, black, black..._

_

* * *

_

Next Chapter: Bryan makes a request, and a bombshell is dropped...

R&R Please!


	7. Chapter 7

Boo! Another chapter for your perusal:

* * *

"Spencer?" 

"What?" Spencer replied, not looking up.

"I...um...I'm sorry...about yesterday...I know I should have apologised sooner, but..."

"It doesn't matter."

"It does to me. I'm sorry." She sat down beside Spencer and hugged him tightly. Slightly uncertainly, the Russian trailed one arm around Mariah's waist, turning and burying his face in her hair. It was so strange, to have someone come and hug him all the time. No-one had ever bothered before. It was...comforting. Knowing that Mariah was always there for him...on his side...and that she -wanted- to be...

He tightened his hold, breathing in the smell of her shampoo. "Bananas."

"Hm?"

"Your hair...it smells of bananas..."

"Do you like it? I got mango as well..."

"I've never tried a mango before. I've never even seen one, not a real one anyway."

"Really?" Mariah's voice buzzed against Spencer's neck, making him shiver. He nodded, hugging her tighter, as tight as he could. She was so warm...so... He blushed at the thought of Mariah's curvy figure, feeling like some kind of pervert. Still, she was so different to the people he'd always known- mostly men and only one woman who was old and bad tempered. Girls had been like some kind of unimaginable thing. Of course as he'd travelled to tournaments and places, he'd seen girls, had met them...but...had never been so close to one before...

"You're so cuddly...like a big cuddly bear!" Mariah giggled, slipping out of his arms as Judith approached.

"Spencer..." Her voice was wheedling, and the only comment that could follow was: "We need to take another blood sample." Spencer went pale.

"You don't. Really you don't. I'm fine!" He burst out instinctively. Judith raised an eyebrow.

"So you call being unable to get up and move without wanting to be sick, or even being sick, fine?" Spencer's eyes flicked to Judith's hand, which was in her pocket, and swallowed nervously.

"I don't...you -can't-! Surely you have enough by now?" He sniffed. "I have bruises." This sulky afterthought made Mariah sigh, clambering onto the bed beside him and covering his eyes. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"If you can't see it, you don't know where it is and you won't be able to look at it and panic." She said matter-of-factly, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. He shook with terror, but didn't shy away, much as he wanted to. He felt the needle dig into his arm and tensed, unable to contain the cry of fear that rose in his throat. Mariah kissed him again, chattering to him about nothingy things. Weather, clothes, whatever. It was what he needed- a distraction, as his arm shook and his head spun, until finally the needle was gone. He sagged with relief, panting. Judith looked genuinely apologetic as she went to leave again. "I'm sorry, Spencer. I really am." The Russian just shook his head.

* * *

Slowly and painstakingly, Kevin signed out the word 'hello' letter-by-letter. He'd bought a book from the hospital shop and had forced himself to learn the sign language alphabet overnight. It seemed to cheer Ian up at any rate. He signed back, just as slowly, 'hello you'. Kevin flumped down beside the Russian boy and took hold of his hand. That seemed to be the one thing Ian always wanted- someone to hold his hand. "Missed you." Came his gargled voice. Kevin nodded, snuggling up closer. 

Ian seemed to enjoy just sitting there quietly, occasionally squeezing Kevin's hand or stroking his hair; the Russian seemed to be fascinated by the green mop, so Kevin left it down, free to be played with. It was a nice, peaceful way to spend the days as they watched Bryan persuade Lee to take him around the hospital, and Spencer develop a fragile and yet beautiful relationship with Mariah. And while all that happened, Ian laid in peaceful reflection, and Tala laid in a total state of unconsciousness. He was starting to worry Judith and James, that was for certain, because sat as he was with Ian Kevin could see their faces as they whispered over Tala, worried and puzzled.

* * *

_Darker and darker, blacker and blacker..._

_

* * *

_

"Lee?"

"Mm-hm?" Lee looked over at Bryan, who he was lying beside.

"I want some clothes."

"Clothes?"

"Yes. I'm sick of wearing these stupid gowns. Every time I leave the ward people look at me like I'm contagious." Lee considered this thought.

"Where would you get clothes from? The hospital shop doesn't stock anything but bath robes." Bryan sighed, and Lee knew he wasn't going to like what he'd heard.

"I want to go outside. I'm sick of being in here..."

"You want to go out and shop for clothes in that getup?" Bryan bit his lip.

"I want to get out. I -hate- having to stay in here all the time."

"You don't. You run around the hospital all the time." Bryan laughed, letting Lee hold him closer. The Chinese had been good for him, drawing him out of his half-hysterical shell. Now all that seemed to be wrong with him was a case of disturbing nightmares and uncomfortable mouth ulcers. And it had been, oh, how long since he'd woken up? Not that long. Spencer had woken up a week after they'd all been hospitalised, and Bryan had woken up a few hours after, and it could only have been about a fortnight since then. With another sigh, Lee rolled onto his side and snuggled Bryan, kissing his cheek. "What size are you?"

"...I don't know. Boris always chose our clothes for us. We've never needed to know what sizes we are..." Lee hmm-ed thoughtfully, then slipped off the t-shirt he was wearing.

"Try that on."

Doubtfully, Bryan untied the hospital gown and tugged away the top half, pulling the t-shirt on. It was red, and while the colour had looked warm and inviting on Lee, it made Bryan look decidedly ill. It was a little big for him as well. Lee eyed him thoughtfully, then smiled. "You're about a size smaller than me. And," He wound his arms around Bryan's waist, measuring the distance. "What a slim waist!" He looked down slyly, then kissed Bryan full on the lips "I'm sure I can find some nice trousers for your nice little waist...little Bryan."

"I'm still taller than you!"

"And I'm still the alpha cat and I expect you to submit." Lee growled playfully, but Bryan could see that he was serious. Strangely, he didn't mind the fact that Lee wanted to dominate him- he'd lived too long obeying orders to be able to give them, and having a dominating partner- who he actually liked a lot- seemed a good substitute for Boris' regime. Although, he supposed, Lee wasn't quite his partner yet. Just someone who he flirted with (after discovering that Lee didn't mind, he had decided to explore his newfound freedom of choice) and spent most of his day with.

"What colour shirt would you like?" Bryan blinked at the question. What colour -would- he like? He'd not had the novelty of choosing for years...

"Um..." He frowned. He wanted something nice, something that would look cheerful... "Purple." That seemed like a nice, safe choice. It wasn't a colour he'd worn before, so he would have that!

"What about your trousers?"

"...Umm..." He would have liked to ask for yellow, but that would make him look ridiculous... "Black."

"And after that you can go out and get your own." Bryan nodded, excited at the prospect, and let Lee pull him closer still. The neko-jin's chest was warm, and Bryan could hear his heart beating steadily beneath the surface. He closed his eyes, letting the gentle rhythm lull him to sleep.

* * *

The next day they were all sitting peacefully, chatting and laughing in their respective pairs. Then, without warning, the doors of the ward were flung open and five nurses came in, followed by James and Judith. The nurses grabbed Tala's bed and started to wheel it away, leaving Rei sitting in the chair beside where the bed had been. James followed them back out as Judith looked around at the now silent ward. 

"We found out what the drug was..." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "It...it affects people by blood type. That's why you all took to it differently..."

"Where have you taken Tala?" Asked Rei, looking anxious. Judith sighed again.

"Spencer's AB, so it's affected his brain so that he can't control motion and his stomach muscles at once. Bryan's B, so it's affected his mouth, Ian's A, and so it affected his hearing..."

"Tala's O." Rei said, worry clear on his face. Judith looked away, unable to meet any of the eyes that were upon her.

"The drug's affecting him...so that he...his internal organs...are starting to shut down. It's a very slow process...but..."

"But?" Bryan spoke this time, not liking the note of sadness that had stolen into Judith's voice.

"The chance of us being able to actually stop the effects are slim." The room went cold. "They've taken him to theatre." Judith sniffed. "I'm so sorry...but we only just got back the final test results...James is going to try everything he can...but..."

The other seven people on the ward stared at her. "There's a very real chance that it'll be too late. If we can't stop the process then...he'll die in the next few weeks." She sniffed. "I'm sorry..."

"What's she saying?" Ian said slowly, not having understood. Swallowing, Spencer turned and signed to him for a few seconds. Ian's eyes filled with tears.

* * *

Dun dun duuuun! Next chapter is either going to be the nice ending or the nasty one...haven't decided which yet. Suggestions welcome. 

Next Chapter: Shameless angst or happy-happy fluff!

R&R please (the 8/9 people who usually don't as well!).

PS: I seem to have confused people- I'm posting both endings, but which one do you want -first-?


	8. Ending One

Wheee! Over 100 reviews! Thank you guys so much!

Right...announcement, and this is IMPORTANT- this is only one of the endings. I'll post the next one in a couple of days time when I've finished tweaking it. This is the angsty ending, because I figure that the angsty one can make you sad, then the happy one can make you all cheerful again.

So...here is the angsty ending:

* * *

Rei paced nervously, his braid swishing behind him. It was a few hours after Judith had dropped her bombshell, and they had each dealt with it in their own way. The other White Tigers, not having been remotely close to Tala, were trying to comfort the Russian team, or what was left of it. Bryan had simply sat in shocked silence since he'd been told, settled in Lee's lap. Spencer had cried, slept and gotten angry, but still in no way dislodged Mariah from his side. And Ian had just cried. Sobbed and choked out tears that soaked Kevin's shoulder until he thought Ian must be drying out inside.

And Rei was pacing. Pacing to try and take his mind off the horrible thought in the back of his mind. Tala might -die-...

He was still in theatre, they were still trying to do...well, Rei would never pretend to know anything about medical matters, but they were doing -something-. It seemed so unfair...that Tala had never been awake to know how diligently Rei had stayed by his side, how long he'd spent just sitting with him, holding his hand and combing his hair, talking to him...pining over him, giving up all his time for him...maybe even falling in love with him...

After another ten minutes' pacing, Judith appeared at the door of the ward again. "I'm sorry...he..." She stopped and took a deep breath. "There were complications."

"W-What are you saying?" Rei asked, heart starting to thud in his chest.

"He had a heart attack. I...I'm so sorry..." But Rei wasn't ready to accept it, not until he heard it said...

"So is he alive?" Judith bit her lip.

"No, Rei. I'm sorry. I know you-" But her words seemed to blur as Rei felt himself falling.

* * *

Lee watched Rei keel over onto the floor, a sense of numbness settling in his chest. It hardly seemed real; they had only just found out there was something dangerously wrong with Tala, and now...he was dead? It just didn't register, not until Bryan burst into tears, grabbing his arm and crushing it, holding him so tightly it hurt. Tala was -dead-...

Holding Bryan to his chest, Lee went over to Rei and picked him up, settling the unconscious neko-jin at the end of the bed as Bryan cried. "Tala...is he-?" Ian asked, voice still thick with tears. Kevin turned to him, shaking his head. Ian swallowed. "But he...he can't be..." Letter by letter, Kevin signed to him 'I'm sorry'. Ian blinked a few times, then started to cry again.

Spencer just sat in stunned silence, ignoring Mariah's hand resting on his knee. "Spencer?" The Russian shook his head. This wasn't how it was supposed to be! They were supposed to get better together, to move on together! They had all found a soulmate and they were all supposed to carry on with them into the future! That was how it was supposed to be!

* * *

A few hours later, as they were all still trying to take in the sheer enormity of what had happened, there was the sound of shouting from outside. "Sir, you can't go in there! It's still a quarantine zone!"

"Quarantine, hah! It didn't do much for Tala, did it? Get out of my way! You've been telling me and telling me I can't go in since day one! Well I won't stay outside now! MOVE!" There was the sound of some kind of commotion, then the doors of the ward opened and Kai came in, looking upset and angry. "...I just heard." He pressed his lip together. "They didn't say..." He bit his lip. "He didn't...suffer?" Lee shook his head slowly, cuddling Bryan closer. "What...what happened to Rei?" Kai walked over, touching Rei's arm.

"He fainted, but now he's just sleeping off the shock." Kai sat down beside the younger neko-jin, looking shaken.

"I just can't believe it. I thought they were joking at first, it just seemed so...unlikely...Tala...Tala...well, I suppose you know, don't you?"

"Know what?"

"About what he did for us all while we were at the abbey." Lee shook his head, and Kai looked slightly surprised. "Bryan...don't they know?" Still in Lee's arms, Bryan shook his head. "Tala...deflected the blows from us...so...so to speak." Kai's eyes filled with tears. "He would always try to take our place if Boris tried to...tried to...well...you know..." He hesitated, hands clasped together in his lap. "He saved us as much as he could. He said...his life had been rubbish before the abbey and there was no reason not to make it worse so we wouldn't have to...to s-suffer..."

A single tear leaked down Kai's face. "God...he can't be dead...it's just not right..." He wiped his tears away with the back of one hand. "God, Tala..."

* * *

"Tala Ivanov was by no means perfect. He was foul-mouthed, cheeky, and sometimes just downright rude. But one thing he was was a true friend. My best friend. We grew up together in the most hostile environment imaginable, and he helped me and supported me, protected and defended me all the way through. He was honest, brave, and..."

Lee watched from the front pew of the church as Bryan faltered in his speaking, tears overcoming him. "He didn't deserve what happened to him. But I can take comfort in the fact that I know Tala will be going to heaven, because he was the most courageous and amazing person I ever knew, who made the biggest sacrifices for others and never once complained..." Tears ran down Bryan's face, splashing on the wood of the pulpit. Lee took this as a cue to guide Bryan gently back to his seat, steering him round the coffin in which Tala lay.

The redhead had been dressed all in white, his hands clasped around a bunch of white lilies. He looked perfect. The most beautiful he had ever been. He looked so peaceful, so serene...almost as if he were only sleeping and would wake up any second, a smile back on his face, and his blue eyes shining once again. Lee watched sadly as Rei stood up, shaking slightly. "You all know that Tala was in a coma before he died...so...the last words he ever said were to me, in the ambulance." He took a deep breath. "He was half-delirious, but the last thing he managed to say was...'look after them'. And I can have no doubt that he meant his friends. Tala's friends were everything to him, and while he wasn't a model citizen, he was a wonderful person and I'm only sad that I didn't get to know him better while he was still with us." Rei sniffed. "He was well loved. And he always will be." Lower lip jerking, Rei sat down again. Lee watched Kai take tight hold of his hand, whispering to him even while tears streamed down both of their faces.

Finally the priest stood up and said a few words, then handed over to Kai, who stood up with great dignity. "When we were growing up, music wasn't a large part of our lives. But...when we used to joke and talk about the future, there was one song he said I had to play at his funeral. He found it one day when we managed to break into a scientist's office, and even after only hearing it once he never forgot the tune. It's called...A Time and Place." Lee looked around as the song started to play.

He looked at Kevin and Ian, sitting hand in hand.

He looked at Mariah comforting Spencer.

He looked at Rei and Kai crying in each other's arms.

And he looked down at Bryan, whose slim waist he had an arm around.

And somehow...somehow...he knew that everything would be okay.

Fin.

* * *

Oo, get that!

Next Ending: In a couple of days. The nice, happy ending.

R&R please!


	9. Ending Two

Oooo, lastest ever chapter! Thank you to all the people who have reviewed this- you make my day every time! And now, here you go...the cheerful ending:

* * *

Rei paced nervously, his braid swishing behind him. It was a few hours after Judith had dropped her bombshell, and they had each dealt with it in their own way. The other White Tigers, not having been remotely close to Tala, were trying to comfort the Russian team, or what was left of it. Bryan had simply sat in shocked silence since he'd been told, settled in Lee's lap. Spencer had cried, slept and gotten angry, but still in no way dislodged Mariah from his side. And Ian had just cried. Sobbed and choked out tears that soaked Kevin's shoulder until he thought Ian must be drying out inside.

And Rei was pacing. Pacing to try and take his mind off the horrible thought in the back of his mind. Tala might -die-...

He was still in theatre, they were still trying to do...well, Rei would never pretend to know anything about medical matters, but they were doing -something-. It seemed so unfair...that Tala had never been awake to know how diligently Rei had stayed by his side, how long he'd spent just sitting with him, holding his hand and combing his hair, talking to him...pining over him, giving up all his time for him...maybe even falling in love with him...

After another ten minutes' pacing, Judith appeared at the door of the ward again. Everyone stopped dead and turned to face her. The tension was palpable, each of them desperate to hear what she had to say. "Well..." She sighed. "There were complications."

"No..." Rei whispered, before he could stop himself. Judith shook her head and continued.

"He's alive," A sharp intake of breath sounded all around the ward. "But...he'll never be able to drink or smoke, and he'll have to watch his diet. And he may end up with a weak heart. But he'll live. And-uff!" Judith was knocked off balance as Rei hugged her tightly, ecstatic. After a second of confusion, she hugged him back, smiling. "He'll need a lot of looking after...he'll be very delicate..."

"I don't care!" Rei exclaimed. And Judith could tell that he meant it.

Tala was soon replaced to the ward, and Rei took up his vigil beside him. Judith and James had assured him that Tala would wake up before the day was out, and Rei didn't care if he had to stay till midnight to be there for him waking up.

* * *

"Oh...that reminds me..." Lee smiled as he suddenly remembered something he had been meaning to say all day. "I sort of forgot with the whole Tala thing, but...well...here." He rifled in his bag and handed Bryan a box.

"What is it?"

"Open it and find out." Doubtfully, Bryan did.

"Oh!"

"Do you like them?" Bryan nodded, pulling out a pair of black jeans and a purple shirt. His fingers lingered over the jeans, smiling.

"I've never had jeans before..." He glanced back down at the box and blushed slightly. "Are those for me as well?"

"Yeah."

"They're...-red-..." Bryan said helplessly, picking up the boxers that had been hiding under the jeans.

"They're not illegal. Sexy, but not illegal." Bryan blushed a little more, then smiled.

"Shut the curtains a minute. I want to change!" Lee obliged, casting a careful eye over Rei, who was still hovering over Tala like a nervous hen. The clock on the wall read eight o clock, and-

"There!" Bryan appeared beside him, looking down at his new clothes happily.

"Bryan?" Spencer sounded shocked. "Where did you get those from?" He asked wistfully. Lee pulled a face.

"He sent me to get them for him. I'm sure Mariah wouldn't mind, of course...so long as she knows your size. And don't worry, she's got a much better sense of style than me..." Mariah giggled.

"I got the brains -and- the looks!" Lee made a show of offence, turning away in mock anger. Bryan touched his shoulder. Which, it had to be said, was forward for Bryan. The Russian didn't seem to dislike being touched, but he didn't usually make the first move. "I don't agree." He said happily. "You -definitely- have the looks..." Lee laughed, turning. He would never have thought it, but Bryan could be quite a flirt if he wanted to be.

"Bryan?" Bryan turned to Ian, smiling happily. "Clothes?" Bryan signed something back and Ian laughed.

"What did you say to him?" Asked Lee, one eyebrow raised.

"I-" A groan made Bryan stop short. "Tala..." He went to walk over, but Lee held him back.

"Just give Rei a little time."

* * *

Rei felt his heart soar as Tala groaned, shifting and opening his eyes. "Uhh?"

"Tala!"

"Mm...what?" Tala blinked, looking greatly confused. "What's...going on?" Rei smiled down at him.

"We rescued you. And it's taken you so long to wake up..." He stroked Tala's cheek lovingly. "How do you feel?"

"...Like I've been hit by a brick wall..." Tala shifted, closing his eyes again. "I ache all over...what the hell happened?"

"Don't you remember Boris drugging you?"

"Oh God...what about-"

"The others are fine, Tala." Tala seemed to relax slightly at that.

"So...why are you here?" He snorted. "Where's here?"

"Hospital. And I'm here because...because...I love you..." Tala opened his eyes, raising one eyebrow.

"Just how long have I been out?"

"A-About three weeks..." Rei felt his chest go tight. Tala didn't like him. He should have known.

"I could hear you, you know." Rei blushed. "Not properly. But it was your voice." Tala shifted again, sitting up only to find his arms giving way beneath him. "What the hell -happened- to me?" Rei fussed over him, settling him back onto his pillows.

"I don't know. It was whatever Boris gave you." He sniffed. "We thought you were going to die..."

"And you care so much why?"

"Because I...because..." Rei sighed. "Because I carried you. And I've sat with you ever since. And I've brushed your hair and held your hand and talked to you...and stayed up late hoping you would wake up..." Tala smiled.

"You did?" Rei nodded, tears stinging his eyes and leaned down, snuggling into Tala's shoulder and smiling. "What-? Are you -purring-?" Rei nodded. "Weird."

"He did practically starve himself for you, Tala..."

"-Bryan-?" Tala laughed as he saw his friend's new clothes. "Purple suits you...and how come you get such fancy clothes when I'm stuck with this...sexy thing?" He plucked at his hospital gown, pulling a face. "And what about-"

"You haven't gotten rid of me yet, Tala."

"Spencer!" Tala cried, peering over the ward. "Come here, you big git!" Spencer shook his head ruefully, leaning his head on Mariah's shoulder.

"Can't. They haven't sorted my medication yet, I'm no good on my feet at the minute..." Tala's smile dropped a little.

"And...Ian?" There was a silence. "What?"

"Tala..." Rei whispered. "He's deaf."

"-What-?" Rei sat up, looking sad.

"The drug Boris gave you...kind of screwed you all up a little. Ian's deaf...Spencer...can't get up and move without being sick. Bryan kind of got off lightly with mouth ulcers, and you..." He sighed. "You would have died if they hadn't noticed in time."

Glowering slightly, Tala sat up. "Tala-" Tala shoved his blankets away and stood up. His legs collapsed under him, making Rei shoot up to catch him. "Tala...give yourself a while to get yourself together..." But by now Ian had noticed the commotion going on. He had been sitting with Kevin, stroking the neko-jin's hair as he slept, but now his eyes were fixed on Tala. "You're...awake!"

Tala leaned on Rei, signing awkwardly, a big grin on his face. Ian laughed, waking Kevin. "Mhn?" He sat up, yawning. Then, sleepily, snuggled up against Ian again.

"Kevin...it's Tala..." Kevin blinked a couple of times and looked up. His face split into a grin.

"Good. Rei can stop pining over him." Rei blushed slightly, still supporting Tala heavily. Tala snorted.

"My legs feel like -jelly-..."

There was a bit more light-hearted confusion while Rei fussed Tala back into bed again and tucked him in so tightly he couldn't move. "You need to rest."

"I've been resting. I've been resting for a fortnight already." Tala replied, not appreciating being babied.

"You have to rest -more-. Why don't you try sleeping for a little bit?"

"Eh. I'll just sit for a bit." Rei blinked.

"I'll be in the cafe if you want me then..." And then he disappeared a little too quickly. Tala swivelled his eyes onto Bryan, one eyebrow raised.

"What's with him?" Bryan glanced at Lee, who was snoozing on his bed.

"He wants to look after you. They're all like that. They really...care."

"Care? Looks like it's a little more than that..." Tala nodded over at Spencer, who was snuggled up with Mariah, arms around her tightly. Bryan shrugged, flopping down next to Tala.

"Rei's been so worried about you...Lee had to force him to -eat-. He'd been forgetting to eat because he was so worried..."

"So you and Lee-?" Bryan blushed slightly.

"I don't know. Sort of. We all are." Tala sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

"So...he's really been sitting next to my bed and everything?" Bryan nodded. "And I suppose he really -cares-, does he?" Bryan was not stupid; he caught the sarcastic spin of Tala's voice and frowned.

"They do care. All of them."

"You've changed your tune. It wasn't that long ago that you were saying no-one could be trusted."

"It's not illegal to change your opinion, Tala, and it isn't abnormal for someone to care about you!" Bryan snapped back, not wanting to hear Tala disparage Lee and his friends in any way.

Tala snorted. "Yeah. People have a thing about -caring- about me, don't they?"

"Tala..."

"And what makes you think they're any different? How do you know Lee isn't going to turn round and-"

"Because they're not like that!"

"He...He's right, Tala..." Tala turned his head and found Rei hovering behind him. "I don't want to hurt you..." Tala glared.

"How do I know that?"

"But...why would I want to hurt you? Why would I want to hurt anyone?" Bryan chose that moment to vacate the area.

"Because I'm beautiful." If anyone else had said that it would sound like hopeless narcissism, but Tala said it as if it was something dirty, a shameful insult. "That's fucking -why-. It's always why."

"But...I don't want to hurt you. That's not how we work." Tala turned away, folding his arms across his chest forbiddingly. "Tala...I just want to help..."

"You want to help? Then leave me alone!" Rei blinked.

And that blink made him see a couple of things he hadn't noticed before. The jealous look on Tala's face as he watched Kevin hugging Ian tightly. And the way his arms were...not folded, but as if he was holding himself in... So he sat down beside Tala and leaned against him. "I told you to leave me alone." Rei ignored him, nuzzling at him and slipping a hand round his waist. "Do you ever give up?"

"No." Tala looked at him briefly, then looked away again.

"So what, I'm stuck with Mr. Perfect even if I don't want to be?"

"I'm not perfect." Tala looked at him for slightly longer this time.

"You know what? I'd rather you sat in the chair." Rei looked at him enquiringly. "It's nothing personal. Just don't like being touched that much." Rei stood up, pulling the visitor's chair closer. "Seeing as I've been under for three weeks...well you probably know all about the abbey right? All about me. How much Boris...liked me." He was staring at the end of the bed, deliberately not looking at anyone. "Well don't you dare pity me for it. If you want to pity me, then just get out now."

"There's a difference between pity and help, Tala..."

"I know there's a difference. I'm asking if you know what it is."

"Yeah. I do." There was a long silence. Then...

"Did you really...sit by my bed?"

"Every day. And most of the nights as well. Lee had to practically force feed me."

"How can you care that much about someone who never did anything but hurt you?" Tala looked straight at him. Rei met the sapphire glare unflinchingly.

"Like I said...no-one's perfect, by any means...but they can change."

"What makes you think I'll ever change? What makes you think I'd want to?"

"Because you can't stay the same." Rei replied, resolute. Tala held his gaze, unblinking. Rei blinked deliberately. It wasn't a competition of who could stare the longest, not to him. Tala blinked back, eyes glittering.

"Maybe I could use some help." Rei nodded, knowing at that moment that everything would turn out okay in the end...

* * *

Well, the end of another fic...

Guess I'll have to start another one now!

R&R please!


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